The Nuggets seem to be zeroing in on an NBA Draft target

The NBA offseason is about to heat up with the league’s draft beginning on this coming Wednesday, meaning the Denver Nuggets real work this summer begins in just the blink of an eye.

But it seems as though Calvin Booth has been very busy in the last few weeks and may have already keyed in on who the Nuggets will take at No. 28. It’s been reported for a while now that Dayton’s DaRon Holmes II stopped doing pre-draft workouts because somebody has promised to select him and he was happy about it—the team almost everyone suspects has made that offer is the Nuggets.

Holmes is seeing a late slight rise up prospect boards which may complicate the issue for Booth but seeing as he was invited to the green room next week the Flyers big will be going in the first round for sure.

The 6-foot-10 Arizona native exits school after his junior season in the A-10 where he averaged a 30th-best in the country 20.4 points with 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.1 blocks per game. He hit a three-a-game on much-improved 39% shooting.

The Flyers made the second round of the NCAA Tournament this spring, going 71-31 in Holmes’ three-year college career playing under Anthony Grant.

Both ESPN and The Ringer have mocked Holmes to the Nuggets with the 28th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

The Ringer writes in describing Holmes, “Throwback big who can block shots and finish lobs, with the benefit of modern switchability.” They say he can be what Zeke Nnaji has failed to become thus far in the NBA. Holmes’ large amount of college experience also matches that of recent Nuggets picks Christian Braun, Collin Gillespie and Julian Strawther, hitting that he may match Booth’s philosophy there too.

Denver is also in need of another ballhandler and could be tasked with replacing starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope if he decides to go. Braun and Strawther would seemingly be the answer for that spot but it may leave the Nuggets more in need of guard depth than a frontcourt player. And it’s worth watching former top high school recruit in USC’s Isaiah Collier who has tumbled down boards.

But the Nuggets are in more desperate need of frontcourt help, as they’ve taxed Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon very heavily the last few seasons. With unreliable or older players behind them, Michael Malone rode his three-time MVP and steady partner and it may have cost the Nuggets in the long term as they looked exhausted in defeat.

Malone’s big options have been so unreliable off the bench that he’s gone to starting power forward Gordon as the backup center in the last two playoff runs. It was hoped Nnaji would eventually become a contributor but he still remains a mystery. DeAndre Jordan is a free agent toward the end of his career and Malone has been hesitant about using the former All-Star. There’s also Peyton Watson, a young player who didn’t see much action in 2023 but broke out in 2024. Still, Watson wasn’t part of the playoff rotation in the end and he’s more of a tall wing than a big. Some of these lineups have moved starting small forward Michael Porter Jr. to power forward, diminishing one of the Nuggets greatest strengths—size.

The Nuggets need size and depth this offseason, so it would make sense that if Denver does utilize their draft pick they use it to accomplish both things at once in drafting Holmes or a player like him.

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